CNBC Business News Update - Market Open: Stocks Mixed, Amazon Invests In Nuclear Power, Mortgage Demand Tanks 10/16/24

Episode Date: October 16, 2024

From Wall Street to Main Street, the latest on the markets and what it means for your money. Updated regularly on weekdays, featuring CNBC expert analysis and sound from top business newsmakers. Anchored by CNBC's Jessica Ettinger.

I'm Jessica Ettinger, CNBC, Wall Street mixed out of the open this morning. The Dow's in the green up 24 points, the S&P 500 index down a point, and the Nasdaq's down six points. I've never seen a market that's doing so well that nobody talks about and everybody's afraid of. And again, path of least resistance is what I always believe in, and the path of least resistance, in my opinion, continues higher because there's absolutely zero FOMO on the upside right now. IG North America's JJ Kinahan on CNBC. Bitcoin hit its highest since the end of July at more than $68,000. Amazon investing in nuclear power. Here in Virginia, which is home to nearly half of all the data centers in the U.S., Amazon Web Services just signed an agreement with Dominion Energy,

the state's utility company, to explore the development of an SMR, that is a small module nuclear reactor. We see the need for gigawatts of power in the coming years, and there's not going to be enough wind and solar projects to be able to meet the needs. And so nuclear is a great opportunity. Also, the technology is really advancing to a place with SMRs. It's going to be safe, easy to manufacture. AWS CEO Matt Garman, SMRs are an advanced kind of nuclear reactor with a smaller physical footprint, allowing them to be built closer to the grid. They also have faster

build times than traditional reactors. CNBC's Diana Olick. Morgan Stanley out with strong quarterly results today. Shares were higher. Mortgage demand tanked last week as interest rates popped up to a two-month high. The average rate today on a 30-year fixed rate home loan, 6.6 percent. According to Mortgage News Daily, that's a half percent higher than just a month ago. Watch chip stocks today. Chipmaker ASML says it sees weaker demand from China and U.S. export curbs are also headwinds. United Airlines out with strong quarterly results helped by lower jet fuel prices. It's planning to buy back a billion and a half dollars in stock while its flight attendants are working without a contract. They've authorized a strike and a federal mediator is involved. The president of the

flight attendants union spoke with CNBC about the CEO of United Airlines. It's hypocritical and really dishonest because he's not sending decision makers to the table. I have done dozens of contract negotiations and I know what it looks like when a company actually wants to work honestly with you to get improvements to workers. And that is not what's happening at United Airlines. And instead, they are sending this money to Wall Street rather than investing in the frontline workers who are with the passengers more than anyone else. The Association of Flight Attendants International President Sarah Nelson on CNBC. Former President Donald Trump's token sale for his new crypto project missed targets after the website selling it suffered multiple and lengthy outages yesterday. Tom Brady becoming a

minority owner of the NFL's Las Vegas Raiders with about a 10% stake in the team. Disney is 101 years old today. The Walt Disney Company created on this day in 1923. Tonight's Powerball jackpot, $408 million. Jessica Ettinger, CNBC. Earnings season. When the CEOs have a big announcement, they come here first. A wild hour of earnings.

Earnings season. Special coverage all this month on CNBC.